


Strays

by ideallyqualia



Series: Rare Pairs [83]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, Birds, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 16:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12257907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: Kinshi knight Suga has no experience in teaching, but their commander has ordered him to teach an archer how to use a kinshi. Kageyama and the kinshi have to get along first.





	Strays

**Author's Note:**

> For the KageSuga week day 2 prompt: Intimacy / Admiration / Mentorship.
> 
> Fair warning that 1) I played fates ages ago and don't remember a whole lot, so I pulled everything about kinshi out of my ass, and 2) if I ever finish kagesuga week, it'll also take ages, probably. It's also been ages since I last wrote kagesuga (2 years maybe?!), so I'm sorry for neglecting you two, you're always OTP #4. That sounds weird and low but it's solid on a list of over a hundred ships.

Suga took care of the kinshi. They were incredibly rare, but they didn't appear because of something unpredictable and righteous like fate, people found them on pure luck. That was how Suga had found his. Then a second one appeared.

With two kinshi now affiliated with Hoshido's army, there was room for one more kinshi knight.

"I'd like you to train Kageyama to use a kinshi," Ushijima told Suga.

"Kageyama? Are you sure?"

Ushijima frowned. "Kageyama is the only archer with enough skill and experience."

"It's just...he's terrible with animals," Suga said.

"He can't be that bad."

Suga held himself back from snorting. "Have you...have you ever talked to him?"

"What do you mean? I didn't think anything was wrong with him."

Suga stared at him, hard, searching for the smallest sign that he was joking. "I'll meet him, then," he said. "You should come and see for yourself though. Kageyama might have a hard time with a kinshi."

"I will. I'll tell him to meet you later today at the stables." Ushijima bowed.

Suga took that as his cue to meet with his kinshi right away. He walked through the castle, stopping at the kitchen to get food for the kinshi.

His name was Akio. Suga hated treating him like a pet, but by the time he could analyze himself about it he had already given him a name and talked to him in a high baby voice.

He spent the time petting him until Kageyama arrived. Kageyama knocked on the threshold and announced himself.

"Sugawara?"

"Just call me Suga." Suga stroked Akio's head one last time and turned. "Where's Ushijima?"

Kageyama's face fell. "I don't know. Should I?"

"No. I just thought he might've come with you." Suga gestured at Akio. "Have you ever seen one before?"

"No."

"Have you ever had a pet before?"

"No."

Suga gave a hard forced smile. "You don't have any experience with horses, do you?"

Kageyama shook his head.

"Try petting my kinshi first. He's very social and gentle." Suga stepped aside.

Kageyama reached forward with a slow hesitant hand. Akio angled his head to the side, but he didn't back up or turn away. Suga let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Does he have a name?" Kageyama asked.

"Yeah. It's Akio." Suga came closer again and scratched Akio's neck. "I've been feeding our new kinshi for the past few weeks, so he should be used to humans by now. You have nothing to worry about."

Like the trigger of a minor hex, Kageyama's mouth soured. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

Kageyama turned to the new kinshi nearby, and Suga snuck a discrete glance at Kageyama. They rarely talked, and Suga didn't know any friends who talked to him either, but he seemed polite enough. He managed to stay quiet whenever someone like Tendou tried to antagonize him, and he always listened to orders. He was young and handsome, making it hard to believe that he had as much battle experience as he said he did when Ushijima first found him. His skill was proof.

The new kinshi hissed. Kageyama's hand shot back. "Doesn't that mean he'll bite?"

"Usually it does for almost any animal."

Kageyama shot him a suspicious look. "I thought you said he was used to humans."

"He's used to them, but he doesn't trust you yet. Don't reach for his face. Petting his back is your best bet. Stay away from the tail."

Kageyama extended a hand again. He went slowly, pointing at the kinshi's back as deliberately as possible. The kinshi still hissed.

Ushijima walked into the stables. He didn't say anything as he nodded at Suga and leaned against a wooden pillar behind them.

Kageyama looked at Suga again. "He's still hissing."

Suga offered Kageyama a handful of dried food. "Feed him. He'll be more likely to let you if he eats out of your hand."

Kageyama bit his lip until he pressed his mouth together in a thin line. "Eat out of my _hand_?"

"It's not as dangerous as you think." Suga held a hand out to the kinshi with bits of food. "Here little guy," Suga said in a soft voice.

The kinshi fixed him with a piercing gaze, long and withering, but he gave in and nudged at the pieces in Suga's hand. Then he slowly nibbled.

Suga withdrew when he finished. "Now you try it."

Kageyama edged forward step by step. The kinshi squinted, and he closed his eyes for a moment, facing away from Kageyama.

Kageyama didn't stop. He leaned over the stall door, sacrificing his balance. The kinshi dodged his hand, but then he reconsidered and bit Kageyama, making him spill the food.

Ushijima sighed and said, "I'll go get a healer." He hurried into the castle.

Suga grabbed Kageyama and held his injured hand. "Let me see. Are you bleeding? You aren't. If he really meant it, you'd be bleeding by now."

Kageyama's sour face returned. "I'm not working with a kinshi."

"Don't you want to be a kinshi knight? I'm the only one in Hoshido, and as far as I know, no other country has one. It's a very pretigious--"

"I don't care."

"But--"

Kageyama left the stables and disappeared into the castle. Suga almost ran after him, but if no one was around when Ushijima came back, then Ushijima would have no idea if Kageyama was alright. Suga stayed put.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima insisted on having Kageyama as their second kinshi knight. Suga couldn't refuse, even after Ushijima saw Kageyama mishandle the kinshi.

Suga had to make plans. He asked everyone in the Hoshido army about Kageyama, and he dug through Ushijima's library for books on kinshi. He didn't find out anything new.

He decided to hold them anyway. At the very least Kageyama would need them, since he was clueless about kinshi. Suga approached him at dinner with the pile in his arms.

Despite not having anyone to sit with, Kageyama swiveled to glance around the room and find an escape. Suga sat down across from him and dumped the books on the table.

"What's this for?" Kageyama asked.

"These are all books on kinshi. Ushijima doesn't want anyone else but you to be the new kinshi's knight."

Kageyama scowled. "There's no way I'm going to be a kinshi knight."

Suga hesitated to question his skill. He wasn't the best at appraising raw skill, but Ushijima saw something in Kageyama that he couldn't.

"Is your ability to get along with him the only thing holding you back? If it is, then Ushijima isn't going to take no for an answer."

Kageyama twitched. "Why can't he just be happy with me being an archer?"

"I think the problem's that he won't be happy with a rider-less kinshi. Even if you wanted to compromise and ride a horse, he'd still say no, probably." Suga nudged the book pile closer to Kageyama. "Can't you at least consider it? I'll help you."

Kageyama stood from his seat and walked away. Suga rested his chin on top of the books. He planned on getting up soon, but Kageyama returned with a plate of food, and Suga sat up straight.

"I'll go get my own food. Be right back." Suga rushed to get a plate before Kageyama changed his mind and decided to eat his dinner in his room.

He caught Shirabu setting out another pot of stew. Shirabu glanced back at the table where Kageyama waited. "You're actually trying to talk to him? Good luck."

"Shirabu, but that's exactly what everyone thought of you when you first joined the army. I think Tsukishima even said those exact same words."

"I had absolutely no problems working with animals, though." Shirabu leaned in to whisper, "Besides, I'm not from _Nohr_."

"What're you talking about?"

"Kageyama's from Nohr."

Suga turned to stand beside Shirabu and himself from everyone else, lowering his voice to speak quietly: "How do you know this?"

"Ushijima told me. He didn't want to tell me anything else, but he's definitely from Nohr. I was the one who had to watch him for a while until Ushijima decided he could stay."

Suga eyed Shirabu. "You know...it's even worse that you turned out to be a gossiper," Suga whispered. "I find it really hard to imagine that Kageyama could turn out like you."

"I know. Kageyama's too honest."

"Anyway, should you really be telling me this? This sounds like something I shouldn't know."

"Ushijima would never tell you this himself unless you asked, and you wouldn't know to ask when you didn't know," Shirabu said.

"This...also doesn't seem that important," Suga added. "This has nothing to do with him being able to handle a kinshi."

Shirabu shrugged and returned to the kitchen.

Suga knew better than to tell Ushijima about Shirabu sharing a secret. If Shirabu hadn't told him Kageyama was from Nohr, he never would've known. He also couldn't tell Kageyama; that was something a stranger like Suga shouldn't know, and Kageyama would be uncomfortable and even more unwilling.

Suga regretted Shirabu ever telling him anything. He sat back at the table with a pit in his stomach.

Kageyama didn't notice his stiffness. He ate quietly and slowly, flipping through a book without paying much attention to it.

"Is a kinshi a type of bird?" Kageyama asked.

Suga swallowed his food without chewing to answer. "It is. It's considered a legendary bird, since it's so rare. We were really, really lucky to find another one."

Kageyama stared at a painted picture of one, focused enough to stop eating. He flipped through the pages again, and Suga left and came back with another plate, this time shoveling food into his mouth.

 

* * *

 

The next time they tried to approach the new kinshi, Kageyama arrived wearing gloves.

"Take those off," Suga said right away. "Gloves will only scare him."

"But he'll bite me."

Suga fought a grin and failed as he said, "If you wear those, he'll definitely bite you." Suga went straight for Kageyama's hands to remove the gloves himself, not bothering to wait. "Gloves are only absolutely necessary when you're handling birds of prey, like a falcon."

Kageyama rubbed at his hands, eyeing them with a wariness that Suga didn't recognize.

"Part of the problem is that he doesn't trust you, so I think a good step is to get him to trust humans more. I'll try riding him. You can try riding Akio."

Suga entered the new kinshi's stall with careful slow steps. After giving him some food, Suga placed the sadle on his back.

Suga led Akio out of the stables first, then the new kinshi. He seated himself on the kinshi's back and fed him several times as a reward. Kageyama did nothing except stare at Akio.

Suga glanced at Kageyama. "Are you having trouble getting on?"

"No," Kageyama stammered, "I haven't tried yet." He walked to Akio with his arms out, his hands awkwardly curled in the air.

Suga leaned on his elbows and watched Kageyama fall off several times. Kageyama grappled with the already mounted saddle and scraped his feet on Akio's side. Akio didn't react, he only watched with less interest than Suga.

"How...how do we fly?" Kageyama asked. His face remained calm, but his voice wavered.

"We're not going to fly today. We're just going to ride them around." Suga steered the reins with a gentle tug, and the kinshi obeyed.

Behind them Kageyama struggled to convince Akio to move at an appropriate pace. He gave the reins a tug as light as possible, and Akio didn't respond. He tugged again, jerking with frustration, and Akio took off running, barreling past Suga with screeches and squawks.

Suga trotted to join him. "Kageyama, you have to be gentle. They're very sensitive."

Kageyama tried to run beside Suga several times. Finally he gave up and yanked on both sides of the reins, almost flying off when Akio braked. He hung over Akio's neck, his hands clutching his feathers with desperate grasps.

Suga patted his kinshi's head. "Stay right there. I'll come help you after I return this guy and let him rest. He's had enough handling for one day." He guided the kinshi to the stables, and after feeding him another reward, he ran to meet Kageyama and Akio.

Kageyama never budged. He was still strewn over Akio's neck, clinging to him with both his arms and legs. Akio huffed several times and glared at Suga.

"Scoot back, Kageyama."

Kageyama crawled backwards. Suga swallowed his hesitation and leapt up to sit in the sadle. "I'll handle Akio for a little bit. Stay seated behind me."

Kageyama didn't react, but when Suga picked up the reins and sent Akio running, he wrapped his arms around Suga's waist and leaned into his back. Akio whirred under them with a delighted yell.

Suga ran him throughout the field. Kageyama kept his face buried in Suga's back for most of the exercise, until Suga commanded Akio to slow to a stop.

"Kageyama, you have to pay attention." Suga reached behind to push him up. "Do you think you can do this by yourself next time?"

Kageyama didn't say anything. Suga imagined he was going pale or just staring at his back.

"Next time...will be tomorrow, then," Suga said.

 

* * *

 

They spent weeks trying to get Kageyama and the new kinshi used to each other. The kinshi allowed Suga to ride for a flight, but when it came to Kageyama, he refused to obey.

Suga thought with his fist over his mouth, hiding his uncertainty as he ordered the kinshi to stop in front of Kageyama. He wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind, but, like the way he'd treat a kinshi, Suga didn't want to spook Kageyama, either.

"What is it?" Kageyama asked.

"Like I said, kinshi are sensitive," Suga said. "They can't speak, but they can tell what you're feeling. If you're afraid, they'll be afraid, too. They're as willing to cooperate as you are." Suga removed his hand and stroked the kinshi's feathers without paying him much attention, instead raising his head to look at Kageyama. "There must be something about you that the kinshi are having trouble understanding."

Kageyama frowned. Suga was getting used to seeing him frown, but Kageyama's growing discomfort was worse than usual.

"I know you're incredibly talented with a bow," Suga continued, "but it still seems like you're insecure about something. Whatever it is, the kinshi's picking up on that."

"Insecure about something..." Kageyama mumbled.

"If that's the case, then I'm afraid I can't help you, unless you say there's a specific problem." Suga climbed down from the kinshi. "Anyway, you might want to think of a name for him. We can't keep calling him 'the kinshi' or 'hey you.'"

Kageyama's mouth quirked. "I'll think about it."

"Good." Suga gestured at Kageyama to pet the kinshi. The kinshi's crest twitched, but otherwise it didn't retreat or attack.

"Suga?" Kageyama asked in a quiet voice. "Were you always an archer?"

Suga's hand slowed on the kinshi's back. "No. At first I tried everything, but I was terrible at other weapons, and I didn't like magic. Eventually Daichi told me to stop trying and stick with bows and arrows."

Kageyama made a small noise of affirmation. "I see."

"Why'd you ask? Did you have problems in the beginning too?" Suga asked.

"I...did."

"Oh. Makes sense." Suga led the kinshi to the stables with a hand, and he motioned for Kageyama to follow with his other hand. "After I set him down for the night, do you mind giving a demonstration? I want to see you use your bow. Maybe it'll help us think of something so you can connect with your kinshi."

Kageyama agreed. They gathered at a small practice field outside the castle. Targets stood on wooden poles in front of them.

"See if you can hit them perfectly in the middle."

Kageyama drew his string and launched an exact amount of arrows. Each of them struck the red dots at the centers of the targets. Suga picked up his own bow and shot another series of arrows, but around half of them missed and pierced other parts of the targets.

"Ushijima's right, you really are good." Suga glanced at the wreckage, unwilling to run around and collect the debris. "Now I really can't recommend that you quit your kinshi path."

Kageyama plucked on his bow's string. "Why does Prince Ushijima trust me with a kinshi?"

"I can't say anything to that when I don't know how well you two know each other, or how you met," Suga lied. "Ushijima really loves animals, though, kinshi especially included. He doesn't think your ineptitude with them is because you're an evil person. Just like how Ushijima's ineptitude with humans doesn't mean anything."

Kageyama continued to play with his bow, avoiding Suga's eyes. "Ushijima has the most reason out of anyone to not trust me. I wasn't born in Hoshido."

"That doesn't mean anything, does it? Hoshido is hardly the whole world."

"Ushijima met me in Nohr."

Suga didn't ask the unspoken question. "Oh," he said, trying to pretend to be surprised but unable to say anything else.

"Kinshi avoid Nohr altogether. I never would've met one if I hadn't moved to Hoshido."

"Are you saying you're glad that you met your kinshi?" Suga asked, a grin appearing with the teasing. Kageyama didn't react.

"No. That's just a coincidence." Kageyama stepped forward and volunteered to collect the broken arrows.

Suga helped him. "If you don't mind me asking...why did you come to Hoshido? Nohr and Hoshido aren't friendly to each other. I doubt it was pleasant for you."

"I was kicked out of Nohr."

Suga choked. "You were kicked out?"

Kageyama held the arrows to his chest, grimacing with a defensive step backwards. Suga cleared his throat.

"Sorry, I was just...surprised. But if that's true, then that's probably what the kinshi are responding to. If you feel guilty, uncomfortable, afraid, or anything else because of your background, then the kinshi will be uncomfortable, too."

Kageyama dumped his bundle of arrows in a pile of broken ones, his back facing Suga.

"The way the kinshi feel has nothing to do with you being from Nohr. I want to emphasize that," Suga said. "It's the way _you_ feel about Nohr that affects them. After all, whatever it is, it doesn't bother Ushijima."

Kageyama didn't turn. "It would make more sense if you knew why I was kicked out. I used to command part of Oikawa's army. I had a lot of problems, and they rebelled, and Oikawa exiled me to calm them."

"Really? I never heard anything about a rebellion from Nohr. I guess we really are isolated from them," Suga said. He mulled it over, but there wasn't anything else to say, and Kageyama was already stiff from talking.

Suga dumped his arrows on top of Kageyama's, and he placed his hands on Kageyama's shoulders, startling Kageyama into jumping.

"Relax, I was just going to say we should check on the kinshi one more time," Suga said. "I don't remember if I fed Akio."

Kageyama grumbled, but he didn't shrug him off. Suga circled to his side and resumed the conversation, talking to keep it going even though it was one-sided. Kageyama looked around as they walked instead of talking.

Suga stopped at the kitchen to pick up dinner for the kinshi. He offered Kageyama enough to feed his kinshi.

"Feed him, for once," Suga said. Kageyama had given him treats before, but feeding him an entire meal was different. "He needs to see you as his provider, not me."

Kageyama conceded and stuck his head inside the stall to gauge the trough. The kinshi sat in the corner and watched him fill it.

"How is he? Hungry?" Suga stood beside him as they watched him eat. When Kageyama stepped back, the kinshi poked his head forward and ate slowly.

"He doesn't look that hungry," Kageyama said. He glanced at Akio.

Within a few minutes they ate everything. The horses stirred at the prospect of feeding time, and Suga awkwardly smiled at them. "I guess they haven't eaten yet, either. I'll go get Hinata and tell him to feed them." Suga ran to retrieve him from the kitchen.

He returned with Hinata, and Kageyama still stood watching them. Kageyama glanced around and turned in place as if he was stuck.

"I forgot to feed them!" Hinata exclaimed as he burst in to hurry and feed everyone. To Kageyama's credit, he didn't make fun of Hinata for it.

Suga returned to Kageyama's side. "Have you thought of a name for him yet?"

"No. I don't have any ideas." Kageyama pointed at them. "What're they doing?"

Akio nudged his beak into his kinshi's feathers. They nipped gently at each other, until Kageyama's kinshi snapped his beak and made a small warbling screech.

"That's preening, it's a normal thing for birds to do." Suga grinned. "Isn't that cute? At least they're getting along with each other."

"They don't look like they're actually getting along."

"No, they are." Suga sat on a stool and watched.

"They can't sing, can they? All they make are ugly noises," Kageyama said.

"I've never heard them sing. But if they did, I don't think people would want them on the battlefield."

"Oh." Kageyama scratched at his face and shifted on the spot. There was a stool nearby, but he didn't take it. "Just how much of your feelings can they sense?"

"I don't know. Why're you asking?"

Kageyama didn't say anything. Their kinshi squabbled for a few more moments and then settled down, and Akio rested his head on top of Kageyama's kinshi.

"Well, interpret it however you want," Suga said, very carefully avoiding the topic of their specific kinshi standing right in front of them.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N): Not looking for concrit; don't leave any.


End file.
